You should try to mow when the lawn is dry and try to keep the height above 3" (for cool season grasses). Also, don't cut off more than 1/3 of the grass height (i.e. if you mow at 3", don't let lawn get taller than 4.5"). Do you have a mulch plug in? When you sharpened the blades did you put them back on the right way (Sharp side down, don't laugh, it has happened to the best of us)? When you say it isn't mulching very well do you mean that the blades that are left on the lawn are too long, is it clumping, etc.?

When you say they are not working well, is the grass being cut, but clumping? Or is the grass not being cut at all?

Did you remove the blades when you sharpened them? Did you put them back on properly? Perhaps upside down? (Yes, that might be a silly question, but it never hurts to ask.)

I've heard of spraying the inside of the deck with cooking oil. This might help the grass to stick less.

Are the belts to the deck worn or loose? Perhaps they are slipping. Are the blades properly tightened on the spindles?

And finally, have those gators been fed recently? Maybe they're just not hungry. 8-)

John

Yes, I put them on the right way. They are cutting great, but there are lots of little clump piles everywhere. The grass is not wet either. Could this be because of a loose belt? Maybe need to get a new one?

Sounds like speed to me. When I cut too quickly with my mulcher is leaves clumps. Have you experimented with speed yet?

Yes, speed has no affect.

Are you running the engine at full throttle?

yes

Sounds like it's time for some new blades. Mine last almost one season. Blades don't look bad at first but look closely and you will see alot of wear in a few months depending on how much sand you stur up.

This time of year tends to have the most full (I was going to say luscious but that doesn't seem the right word) grass. Depending on when you got the Gators perhaps you never mowed under these conditions before.

I'd check them again and if they are sharp I'd mow for a few more weeks and see if the problem "comes clear by magic".

Best of luck

I'll ask the question again, do you have the mulch plug installed? I run gators on two different brands of mowers and never had clumps. I got 200 hrs on one set and still cut good.